


Self-Indulgent Cheese

by GooseWhiskers



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, Bathing/Washing, Confessions, Cute, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fondling, Hurt/Comfort, I Love You, Kissing, Near Death Experiences, New Parents, Night Terrors, Orgasm, Pining, Roleplay, Secret Relationship, Teasing, Vaginal Fingering, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2020-05-16 06:46:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 12,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19312795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GooseWhiskers/pseuds/GooseWhiskers
Summary: A collection of standalone kiss ficlets, originally posted on tumblr for an ask game! Some of these might eventually make it into bigger stories of their own, but for now they're just cute little blurbs, angsty excerpts, and/or steamy encounters! <3Each ficlet has a rating and brief summary at the top, most are General/Teen but some will drift into M/E territory!





	1. ... Out of Pride [Nate/Nora]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate rushes to the hospital after learning Nora is in early labor, and meets his son for the first time  
> Rating: General  
> Mentions: domestic fluff, hospital, maternity ward, newborn, new parents  
> Requested by [tarberrymentats](https://tarberrymentats.tumblr.com/)

He’d come as soon as word reached him, pleading emergency and expecting the higher ups to sort it out afterwards. Early labor. _A week_ early. And the doctors could insist that was fine however much they liked, but this was all too new to Nate. Nora wasn’t his fourth patient of the day and Shaun was more than a name on a little blue bracelet.

His old squadmates, Hannah and Daniel, were already there - waiting amidst the flock of soldiers and soldier’s spouses flitting through the great spinning doors of the base hospital. From the pair he learned she’d delivered, she was doing well, and Shaun was healthy. “Already louder than you, Sergeant.” 

They clapped him on the shoulder and took him up a too-slow elevator into a too-narrow hall to a nondescript little door with his and Nora’s last name penned on a too-white sheet of paper. Everything smelled of saline and sterilization. His pace didn’t slow until the door was thrown open and Nora’s tired smile lifted up to greet him from her hospital bed. Hannah and Daniel waited outside.

“Hey, new dad.” Nora croaked warmly. 

She lay bundled in fabric and pillows, practically sinking into the cot. Not just tired - she looked exhausted. No makeup, unkempt hair. Hopefully the nurses possessed enough sense not to bring her a mirror. Still, Nate was pretty sure his wife had never looked more beautiful. Profound contentment glowed off of her. A softness always draped Nora’s features - but she’d never quite worn it the way she did now.

Suddenly Nate’s boots were made of lead. His heart was pounding. Since the day she’d given him the good news, he’d made it his mission to read every book under the sun on parenting and pregnancy. Compiled a vast catalogue of what to expect or look for in anticipation of _this_ day. And still remained woefully uncertain now that the moment had come. Nate began to wonder if it was something you could prepare for at all. There was no way - not a chance, not in a million years, not ever - to be ready for this. 

He smiled back uncertainly from against the doorframe, words meek as they caught in his throat. “…How are you feeling?” 

A faint huff of a laugh whisked from Nora. 

Maybe that’d been a silly question. The emphatic worry in Nate’s eyes urged her to answer anyway. 

“Better now. Hannah stayed with me the whole time.”

“Good.” He breathed, but the worry remained. His gaze hadn’t left Nora for a moment.

“You’re allowed in, you know,” she chuckled, humouring him with a smirk. “Come and meet your son.”

Swaddled as they were in so many blankets, Nate hadn’t noticed the baby tucked against Nora’s chest until that moment. Surprise flashed over his face, now wide eyed with excitement and a sprinkling of terror. He hesitated, then approached almost warily - as if unsure what he might find.

“Well don’t be shy.” Nora teased, clearly deriving a great deal of amusement from her husband’s timid aspect. “This little guy’s waited a long time to meet you.”

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Nate reached the edge of the bed and leaned down slowly beside her. His heart clenched at the sight of pink newborn skin peeking out under a white knit cap. The _brightest_ blue eyes he’d _ever_ seen, wide and unable to focus, stared up at him. Shaun already had a little wisp of charcoal hair atop his head. Tiny hands barely big enough to hold a quarter curled tightly against one another, then reached forward and took Nate’s outstretched finger.

Just like that. In an instant, the entire world had changed.

That’s _my boy._ Relief flooded through Nate’s senses, rendering him mute except for a single whimper. The surge of love that followed was instant and immortal. _My son._ A lightning strike would’ve been less overwhelming. 

“You wanna hold him?” Nora suggested.

“I-” Suddenly Shaun was in his arms. Nate’s shoulders tensed and he felt real terror wrest for control of his senses. Small, fragile, unbelievably new. The panic only lasted for a moment. Struggling against a monsoon of every possible emotion all at once, Nate grinned weakly. “Just couldn’t wait a few more days, huh kiddo?” 

Shaun made a gurgly little noise, shutting his eyes and sticking his tongue out. Nate’s smile flinched affectionately. He glanced back at his wife with awestruck disbelief, as if unable to fully comprehend the moment, and maybe the look of her could tether him back to reality. 

There was real warmth in her voice, “He looks like you.”

“Hey, there…” Nate cooed, wiggling his index finger in front of Shaun’s face. “Hey…” Shaun’s unsteady hand stretched out, mashing against Nate’s lip and nose. Another tsunami of emotion cascaded over him. His heart felt full enough to burst. He chuckled hoarsely. “Nora, he’s perfect.” Nate rasped in a voice thick with brimming tears. 

So much uncertainty had led to this moment. The surprise of it all, and then months spent apart in a war-torn nation ripe with unrest. How could they have planned for a future with a child, when their own days remained dubious? But now, holding Shaun, seeing him and all he might become - no uncertainty remained. Nate was proud to be a father. Proud to be a husband. Prouder than he had ever been of anything in his entire life.

“I love you. So much.” Leaning over Nora so that the three of them shared an embrace, he kissed his wife long and soft. 

Her fingers brushed through his hair and pulled him close, laughing as her own tears ran between them. “Love you too, Honey.”

 _This_ was the future he wanted. Without a doubt. 

As long as he had them both, nothing else mattered.


	2. ... As Comfort [Piper/MSole]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue's nightmares wake Piper from her sleep, and there's only so much she can do to comfort either of them.  
> Rating: Teen (injury, language)  
> Mentions of: angst/comfort, night terrors, grief, pining  
> Requested by [tarberrymentats](https://tarberrymentats.tumblr.com/)

Fitful whimpering stirred Piper to awareness. Night had fallen hard and fast; it was hours before dawn. Blinking groggily, she leaned on her elbows and squinted at Blue’s silhouette for a moment before sitting fully upright. Tremors were about him, and broken strings of frightened words that only partly made sense spilled from his lips. “Blue?”

No response. But he made another painful sound, and curled tightly inward.

Enough time on the road together had given Piper the context she needed to tell: tonight was a bad one. 

 _Really_ bad.

Sometimes Blue slept like a baby, or fidgeted so faintly the dreams might be anything. When that happened, she liked to hope he was remembering pleasant days and small victories. Other times he shivered and shook and dragged agonized hands across his face. He’d wake her with his troubled pitching, and sleep would be impossible for Piper after that. Ever since his fateful dive into Kellogg’s brain, these demon dreams had become more common. 

Tonight, though… tonight Nate was crying for his wife.

“Blue?” Piper tested again, but it evoked no response. With a weak frown, her gaze shifted from his sleeping space opposite the campfire to the cathedral of stars glittering in the night sky above. It was a run down little church they’d found, mostly roofless and tucked away from prying eyes. You’d barely recognize it as holy ground at all, except that some color in the shattered stained glass windows stubbornly remained.

She knew better than trying to rouse him. All she would get was a wallop in the face by a delirious, nightmare-possessed survivor who wouldn’t know up from down even if it was labelled in neon letters. Piper’s hand brushed her chin absently, recalling the one and _only_ time she’d attempted to free Blue from his entrapment. He’d apologized _ad nauseum_ for days, even after the bruise faded. 

Whether he had any memory of his perilous dreams on waking didn’t seem to follow much rhyme or reason. Not that he’d be inclined to talk about it, anyway. But for Piper, helpless except to watch, each experience burned itself in her mind and stuck there like spilled ink.

“This isn’t right.” Blue sobbed, tugging tightly on his own hair. “She wouldn’t have- Nora…”

 _Nora._ Nate’s wife haunted him unmercifully by night. And even in daylight her ghost followed him across Boston, Concord, Quincy… Piper could see that, too. The way Blue would freeze as they passed places familiar to his old life. Ruins, now, but still recognizable in some small fashion to bring the memories rushing back. 

Nate lived in the past. He was stuck there. Imprisoned, maybe. And it was the one place Piper couldn’t follow. No matter how badly she might want to.

With a grimace, she abandoned the discomfort of her sleeping bag to sit beside Blue and took his quivering hand. Such had been her habit for a while now. Though it never stirred any consciousness, sometimes the tremors seemed to recede. Sometimes. Maybe the gesture only held significance in its intent. At least it was better than sitting by helplessly and watching him suffer. She hated that. Hated seeing him fight a losing battle night after night.

The truth was she’d been in love with him for a while, now.

Underneath his grief, Blue was warm, and thoughtful, and patient in a way Piper never could be. He always seemed to know what to do. How to bring out the best in strangers, even just by offering the best of himself. Hell, he’d done it to her. People flocked to him. Confided in him. And she admired how easy he made it look. 

Whenever Blue smiled at her, Piper was pretty sure she could fly if he asked.

The truth was that he’d always belong to Nora.

And Nora was a cascading star fallen from Nate’s eyes, so bright as to be blinding. 

Even without Piper’s comparable vices to complicate matters, entertaining any notion of him _ever_ wanting more out of their relationship was a silly, far flung fancy. No. This wasn’t a comic book love story. And she didn’t want to pretend. Especially with Blue. She only wanted it if it was real. Just having his friendship was lucky enough.

The moon peeked into view above, casting them in alabaster light. With a mournful frown, Piper lifted Blue’s hand to her lips and kissed it softly. He wouldn’t know. But still, it was the only comfort she had.

 


	3. ... Because Time Is Running Out [Nate/Nora]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate gets trapped beneath collapsing rubble, and struggles to escape before his wounds claim him. Delirious and in pain, he calls for his dead wife.  
> Rating: Teen (angst, injuries)  
> Mentions: explosions, blood, near death, ghost or hallucination, grief, open-ending  
> Requested by [scorpio-skies!](https://scorpio-skies.tumblr.com/)  
> Thanks to [tarberrymentats](https://tarberrymentats.tumblr.com/), [daddyfuckinlonglegs](https://daddyfuckinlonglegs.tumblr.com/), [InstantCoyote](https://www.deviantart.com/instantcoyote), [shadow-mockingbird](https://shadow-mockingbird.tumblr.com/), and [nuka-nuke](https://nuka-nuke.tumblr.com/) for beta-reading!

He almost made it out. Given a few seconds longer, things might have gone differently. But Nate had never been very lucky, only resourceful. And resourceful wasn’t enough. Today Fate’s scale did not balance in his favor.

Red warning lights drenched the hallway. Piper rushed for the exit with Nick hot on her heels. Less than a meter back, Nate followed. Dogmeat sprawled in his arms, squirming as each jarred step aggravated the bullet wound to the canine’s thigh.

Lockdown systems, installed long before the apocalypse to protect against such emergencies, groaned to life. Nate yelled for them to run faster. It was carried away by the intercom’s urgent siren and weathered static. Oh, and the distant roar of condensed fire erupting through every lower level of the building. Death was coming fast. Too fast.

What followed came in a blur of perfect clarity. Blast doors up ahead began to stagger shut, slowed by rust and age, still prepared to cut off the hall and protect the lab just past it. A blistering inferno surged from behind. Nick and Piper ducked through the closing gap. But Nate couldn’t make the distance. He managed to toss Dogmeat between the doors, and then the ground caved in beneath him as several metric tons of concrete and cast iron went crashing down. Flames grasped Nate’s feet.

“BLUE!” Piper’s howl sounded panicked - unnatural. It cut off sharply against the competing noise. He was drowning in chaos.

Through the blur, he had the sense to grasp at makeshift cover. A paltry effort to shield his face from the blast as shrapnel sucker punched him in the gut. The air was gone. Burned up. Rubble smothered him. Then all Nate knew was darkness.

 

* * *

 

His own ragged breathing stirred Nate back to a bleary consciousness. Fog lay heavy over his mind. His lips felt like sandpaper. How long-? Were the others-? God, what was pressing so hard into his stomach…

Breathing shallowly, he fumbled for the flashlight on his Pip-Boy. Blue illumination cast the scene into furrows of sharp black and pale, half-discernible detail. To his left, a burning hallway stretched into smoky oblivion. To the right, nothing but debris. Motes of dust floated in the stale air; they seemed out of focus. He was alone.

And he  _hurt_. Realization came slowly, then in a crashing heave. Nate’s moan shattered into a hoarse cough that felt sticky and hot behind his tongue.  _That’s probably not good._

Incessant 8-bit beeping drew his eye back to the Pip-Boy. A comically distressed avatar made note of several severe wounds to Nate’s person. Glancing down, he could now dimly make out the black stain leaking against the collapsed infrastructure he lay wedged between. _Oh, God_.

A fragment of steel rebar jutted from beneath Nate’s ribs. Attempting to rise sent hellish streaks of searing pain from the wound. For a moment, he went blind. “Sh _it_.” His voice cracked over the expletive. It was nearly a whimper.

The rod went deep. Stuck there. Probably the only reason he hadn’t bled to death yet. Adrenaline brought a faint light of clarity with it, and Nate understood that removing the object was out of the question. So was staying put here; he had to believe the others made it out, and there was no way they could reach him under the rubble in time.

He felt so heavy. A black dredge of fear added friction to the cloud of his mind. This was no way to go. Dying itself didn’t scare Nate. It just wasn’t something he could afford to do right now.

 _Get up. Get on your feet. That’s the first step._  His next attempt to rise ended in equal disaster, ripping out a clenched groan from deep in his chest.

Teeth gritted, he squinted to distract from the darkness pulsing over his eyelids. Slowly, in agonizing increments, Nate managed to extract himself from the bloody ruin and drag himself to bloody knees. The left side of his face throbbed and he was pretty sure the eye had swollen shut. He clutched the rebar to instill some sense of control over the grief it caused, and dragged himself upright. A surge of dizziness nearly sent him careening back onto the floor. But this time Nate managed to stay up.

_Good. There. Okay. Now keep moving._

Cuts and bruises made their protests known across every inch of skin. Each footfall was a battle and an eternity. But after a while the pain spilled together and turned to white noise in the back of his mind.

His flashlight served poorly in such sooty air. Sparks from frayed wires illuminated the path in unpatterned entropy. Smoke burned Nate’s lungs. He could taste it mixed with iron, another unpleasant distraction from the numbness spreading inward through his limbs.

“ _No_ ra-a…” He garbled, blood irritating his chin. Her name was instinct on his lips, or else a prayer. The vertigo of dying shook his inhibitions free. Loved ones returned to you when you came close to the veil, right? If he called her, wouldn’t she come and take this pain away?

Wouldn’t she save him?

Lurching into the wall, for a moment all Nate could do was struggle to breathe. He left a dark handprint against the warped panelling. “Nora-”  _Please._

Pressed into the hallway’s edge for support, Nate limped along. A savage smear followed his progress.

Another tattered passage waited ahead. No end to the hallways seemed in sight. Collapsed sections and burning rubble obstructed most routes, leaving Nate to wander like a rat in some apocalyptic maze. Every once in a while something seemed to move further ahead, but summoning the focus to be sure had long since become impossible. He kept calling. Sometimes he thought he heard answers, but never close enough to reach. Time floated in and out of his attention. It was hard to know how long he’d been wandering this hell. Except that he was getting weaker. Even the ringing in his ears sounded far away now.

“Nora-aa-” Nate’s limping cries grew slurred with desperation.

Why wasn’t she here? This wasn’t right. None of this was right at all.

Staggering, Nate pitched to the ground like a collapsing skyscraper. He felt a throb - something that should have been pain. But it was too distant.  _“Please,”_  he begged. Whether the words actually left his tongue Nate wasn’t sure. There was no strength left in him to rise. Silence engulfed the bleak hallway.

Consciousness was slipping between his fingers; a stream of sand he couldn’t even slow. The feeling was not entirely unpleasant. Even comforting. He seemed to float. Maybe oblivion was better. Maybe his father was right, and men always died alone in the end.

Something bright stung Nate’s eyes.

He tried recoiling at first, the color painful after so long draped in gloom. It grew brighter. Perhaps this was the next life, come to claim him.

_‘Honey.’_

Nate’s eyelids were heavy, but he forced them open into a squint at the familiar voice. She’d come from somewhere up ahead, and she was out of focus, haloed in bright orange. And then he didn’t care if he was dead. He didn’t care if he could stand. She was here, she’d come back to him, it was her. “Nora-” Nate rasped.

She knelt before him,  _‘Get up, Nate.’_

He didn’t question it. He tried to listen, but lead anchored each limb, and his crippled body could not obey. “Ho-ney,” his voice churned with gravel, “I, l _ove_  ygh - I’m s _orry_.” Bile clogged his swollen throat, and Nate garbled for his voice back. “I-I’m so,  _so,_  sorry…”

 _‘Shh shh shh - it’s okay.’_  A sad smile carried her words. _‘I love you, too. Now come on.’_  Her fingers tousled his hair, a touch he’d missed so desperately bringing warmth back to Nate’s extremities.

But they still would not heed him. “I can’t.” Nate groaned, wanting nothing more than to cleave to his wife’s sides.

_‘Get up, Honey.’_

Stay with me.  _Please._  “Don’t leave.”

 _‘There’s no more time.’_  Her lips painted his cheeks. His forehead. His nose. They warmed every inch of his face as she pulled him against her chest into a longing embrace, “Come on. You’ve got a son to find, remember? You’ve got to get up. You’re not going to die here.”

Then nothingness consumed him.

 

* * *

 

The next time Nate saw light, it was fluorescent. He felt cold. Yellow eyes peered down at him, and when he stirred, the sound of worn leather shifting rapidly hit his ears. Piper darted into view beside Nick. Nora was gone.

Nate’s chest ached with longing. But she’d come.  _She’d saved him._ He shut his eyes again, clinging to the memory of her touch.

“Blue-?” Piper probed, voice furrowed with concern.

“We’ve - gotta stop meeting this way.” He breathed, testing his arms and finding them weak, but responsive. His gut burned. It was a muted feeling. They must’ve given him something for the pain.

“Glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor, at least.” Nick chided. “You weren’t talking much sense after Piper pulled you out of that burning rubble.”

Nate’s eyes flit open.  _“Piper?”_

“Yeah.” She managed a sheepish-looking smile, glancing away. “You cut it close, Blue.”

Nick frowned. “How’s that wound? You look pale, Nathan.”

“I…” No. That couldn’t be right.  _Nora_  had found him. It _had_  to have been Nora. She’d… she…

Her touch, her voice, the hands that lifted him up. He’d called for her, and his lover had come. It had to be her.

Even without seeing her face, even in the fog of pain and desperation, he knew that voice. Knew the presence of her soul. Robbed of all his senses, surely he wouldn’t just forge her existence in a fit of delirium.

Nate grimaced. Had he really been lost chasing a memory, when flesh and blood came to save him? Could a specter blind him to the living so entirely?

Piper’s hand squeezed his gently. He stared down at it. Nora’s ghost kissed him, he’d thought. His stomach turned, “…Did you-?”

Piper’s fingers twitched around Nate’s palm. Not enough to mean anything. Still it stopped him. Through hazy thoughts, he possessed the presence of mind to realize how tactless the question would be.

Changing tracks, he swallowed. The motion was difficult. “-bring any water?”

Valentine’s eyes narrowed. Nate made sure not to meet them.

 _Piper_  found him.

Piper was always finding him. In Goodneighbor. In Sanctuary. At his worst, most vulnerable moments. And he was always looking backwards, after the one he left behind.


	4. ... Out of Love [Piper/MSole]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate and Piper find respite on a quiet beach, and make a confession  
> Rating: General  
> Mentions: Secret relationship, teasing, "I Love You"  
> Requested by [Crumplebot3000.](https://crumplebot3000.tumblr.com/) Thank you [tarberrymenats](https://tarberrymentats.tumblr.com/) for beta-reading! :D

The music faded into the background, drowned out by the drumming of his heartbeat. Nate couldn’t help but stare. The speckles of colour in Piper’s hazel eyes caught the light like sparks of springtime. So familiar… but somehow always surprising. She had the kind of eyes you could get lost in. The sort they wrote songs about. 

In the weeks following the confession that left them both red-cheeked and tongue-tied, a delicate game had emerged. Since then, they’d learned to speak without speaking, sharing secrets under the guise of their usual friendly banter. How long could they keep the world blind to their blossoming affections? An Institute operative and one of the Institute’s most vocal critics was hardly a safe bet. 

But a sure one, nonetheless.

He was scarcely aware of how long the silence had stretched between them, but they’d stopped dancing. Piper tilted her head with a knowing smirk, and he mimicked her by a fraction, like a puppet on a string.

“Blue -”, she clicked her tongue, studying the curve of his mouth with sultry, half-lidded eyes, “Wha’dya say we eh… blow this joint, huh?” Piper leaned back, tugging at him playfully. She rocked forward again on tiptoe, pulling his arms down and breathing against his ear. “Let’s get away from these crowds,“ she pressed.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the quirk of her lips. They lingered so perilously close. God, he wanted to kiss her. Instead Nate’s hands slipped around Piper’s waist, and he led her in a sauntering dance away from the thick of the gathering. “Aren’t you here to report on the Minutemen’s success? Missing the party seems a bit counterintuitive.” He flashed his brows, but his smile was warm.

She made a dismissive gesture, spinning out of his grasp and sauntering backwards toward an empty corridor of the Castle, “I-i was kinda hoping for an exclusive interview with the great  _General_ Nathaniel Ronan.” Piper jived her shoulders, an impish gleam in her eye, “D’you think he’ll speak to me?”

“I’m sure if you ask nicely. You can be very persuasive.” 

A deep hum of amusement thrummed out of her as she turned and meandered down the hallway, pretending to occupy her attention with the paintings lining the wall. Soon the noise of the party had faded to a quiet echo, and the sea beckoned close by. 

Speeding up, Nate brushed Piper’s hand with loose fingers as he passed, leading her towards the sound of waves rolling over dark sand. Echoes of their contact pulsed up his arm like an electric current. The sensation lingered, and once again he resisted the powerful urge to stop everything else and kiss her into a stupor. The way she was blushing, it wasn’t hard to guess whether her thoughts followed a similar track.

They found respite on the Northern shore, well away from prying eyes. 

“Lovely night,” Piper noted in a whimsical voice. Moonlight cast ripples of ivory over the waters, and in the distance the silhouette of Boston stood skeletal and resolute. It was clear and cloudless, the sky above bright with myriad stars. But Piper hadn’t been looking at any of that when she spoke.

“Yeah.” Nate answered, a little too distracted by the windblown curls in her hair to appreciate the view. 

She snickered faintly. Her hands couldn’t quite decide where they wanted to be - affixed to her coat lapels, behind her back, against her hips - they danced about as if still within the Castle proper. Nate’s own fingers ravelled together inside his pockets and he hovered stiffly against the rising moon. 

Free now to speak their minds, it seemed suddenly that neither quite knew what to say. There was so much he wanted to tell her. Things she needed to know, and he needed to confess  - before someone found them out here and thought to question why.

 

“Hey, Blue-”

“Piper, I…” 

Both laughed as their voices stumbled over one another. Piper closed the gap between them, preoccupying her gaze with the fastening of Nate’s neckerchief, “You first.”

“Uh-,” Nate cleared his throat, “-Mm. Listen, Scribbles - I never told you this before. I should have. A long time ago. But-” His voice staggered off and he squeezed her fingers gently.

“Oh? I better get my notes out, this already sounds good.”

She inspired a chuckle. Still Nate hesitated.

“ _C’mon_ , don’t leave me in suspense.” She prodded cheekily, the first faint chill of uncertainty frosting Piper’s voice.

“I… still remember the first time I saw you. Standing there in the rain, half cocked and with a look in your eye that would shame the devil. Lighting a fire under Danny Sullivan.”

So long ago. Almost a year - or, had it been longer now? “Like it was yesterday.” Piper agreed, “You still had on that dingy blue jumpsuit with a jacket three sizes too big. You didn’t have a clue what planet you were on. I knew I’d found a story the moment you crossed the street.” 

Not the faintest  _clue_  how big though. Really, how could she have imagined that day leading here? Now? Or what Nate would come to mean to her.

He smiled and she forgot how to breathe. Reminiscence fond in his voice, he kissed her knuckles, “God, I didn’t know which way was up. You roped me into that ridiculous bluff,  _like you knew me,_  and - and Piper, I- _i_  needed that. More than you can imagine. It was the first moment things just… Well. Like this wasn’t the end of the world.” 

She scoffed, shifting her head back, “ _No._  Blue!  _How could you?_ ”

Their harmony shattered abruptly. “What?” Nate looked so terrified it was impossible to stifle her laugh.

“ _I_  was about to bare my heart to  _you._  You can’t just do it first. You’ve totally stolen my moment.” She groaned.

“ _Jesus_.” He breathed, rubbing his forehead and smiling as if the gesture might summon composure, “You’re an awful tease, you know that?”

“Yes.” Pitching forward, she tickled her nose against his, “What can I say? You make it so easy.”

His baffled smile softened. “Should I be providing more of a challenge?”

“Mmm, truth be told, I’d rather you just kissed me already.”

“… _Oh really?”_   His hunger reverberated through her chest, spurring her heart into overdrive.

“You know… every day since the first, I’ve been in awe.” Nate murmured. He brushed a stray lock of inky hair back, leaning down with deliberate slowness and ghosting his mouth against hers. She ached all over, nuzzling him with a tentative hunger. A chill wind urged them together. 

The next kiss was bolder. A surprised moan whittled out of Nate as it deepened, and she smiled against the contact. Piper was dangerously close to losing control of her senses. Losing control didn’t actually sound half bad. She wanted him over every inch of her body. She wanted to forget where one of them ended and the other began. 

Nate pulled back to catch his breath. “I love you.” 

She went rigid, meeting his eyes. Words ought to form. Shock left her paralyzed.

 _“I love you.”_  He said again, weakly, vulnerable, but deeply sincere. As though he’d almost surprised himself in the realization. He kissed her again - her brow, her cheek, her lips.

She kissed him back, and clutched him tightly, giggling with stupefied fervor, “I love you too, Blue. Hmph -  _so much_.”


	5. ... Lazily [Piper/MSole]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate and Piper return to the Castle after a hard road, where Nate prepares a hot bath and spends some time doting over her  
> Rating: Teen (nudity, sensuality, injuries)  
> Mentions: cheeky banter/flirtation, hair washing, bathing, bruises, singing  
> Requested by [Shadow-Mockingbird!](https://shadow-mockingbird.tumblr.com)  
> Thanks to [Tarberrymentats](http://tarberrymentats.tumblr.com)for beta reading!

A hot bath. One thing you never took for granted in the wasteland. After days on the road getting by with soapy rags and a saucepan of boiled water every night, Piper was more than ready to kick back, relax, and soak away the grime. 

Blue had insisted on preparing it. He intended to spoil her. The ache in her bones left little incentive to protest, especially after he leaned in close and whispered tempting promises. Let it never be said her lover lacked imagination. Magnanimous overture was his favorite way to speak of desire. 

Tonight was no exception. Heating the water would’ve been plenty. But he’d gone the extra mile. Steam rising from its surface glowed against dim lantern-light, a radio hummed Billie Holiday’s “Blue Moon” just quietly enough to fade into the background, and Nate had even scattered hubflower petals around the ceramic tub. Piper smiled fondly at the display. 

Sometimes it made her feel guilty. So many others lacked even the most rudimentary amenities. She didn’t deserve this. Not Blue’s confidence. Not his doting. Certainly not his love. Admittedly though, that guilt plagued her less each passing day. Hardly at all tonight. Whatever she’d done to find herself in his heart, it was a place she was happy to be. 

The adulations weren’t the only reason. He smiled so often now. She’d give most anything to see that lopsided grin. Being the one to bring it to Blue’s face was reward enough for most trials. Some days he would sing for her, too. Those days were her favorites.

With a hum of pleasure, Piper eased into the bath. Heat hugged her sore muscles. The protest of each bruise and scrape surrendered to a massage of warm, clean water. Yeah, he’d really outdone himself. It was the perfect temperature. Wriggling like an eel, she submerged herself almost entirely to enjoy the soak. 

Some minutes later, rhythmic knocking sounded on the divider. “Mind some company?” Teased a welcome voice.

She smirked. “Oh I dunno, Blue. I’ve got my reputation to think about.”

“I can be discreet.” Owly cornflower eyes peeked sideways around the corner. 

Sitting up with a giggle, Piper waved an inviting hand. It glistened against lantern light. “ _Come on_ , y’rascal.” 

The newness of their intimacy had yet to wear off. Even in her eagerness, she flushed bashfully to be so exposed. Blue drank in the sight of her. Like he’d never seen a woman bare before. As if they hadn’t made love tangled in soft blankets, here in this very Castle.

He’d already cleaned up. A testament to his military background, he could be in and out of the barracks’ showers in two minutes flat. Though it looked as if he’d taken a  _little_  longer to make himself presentable this evening. She took a moment to admire that clean shaven jaw, chiseled in the image of some prewar statue. Nate’s damp hair was sleek and blueish against the dim atmosphere, practically begging be ruffled. He was absolutely, without a doubt, in a perfect state to be kissed. And maybe a few other things, too.

Nate took a seat on the floor beside the bath, one arm on a knee, the other draped lazily over the rim of the tub. He swirled the water with a finger, then reached to scatter petals across its surface. 

Piper splashed at him in mock offense, “What am I,  _soup?_ ”

An ember sparked to life behind his gaze, “Well, you do look quite tasty.”

Their eyes locked. Stayed that way. Far too long to be considered proper. A jolt ran down her core, curling her toes. Blue noticed. His hand dipped below the water and caressed meaningfully down her thigh, hovering on the inside just above her knee. Maybe she’d just been soaking too long, but suddenly Piper felt exceptionally hot.

“Pfa, shoo-” She shrilled out with a playful wriggle, prying his hand off clumsily. Another surge of overeager nerves shot out from where they touched, “I’m trying to get clean here.”

“Alright, alright.” He snickered, leaning back to admire the view.

She reached for the soap, only to wince as the motion aggravated a particularly large bruise. It spread in vivid maroon across her shoulder down toward the lowest ribs. A token left by falling rubble. Echoes of that first painful impact rippled beneath her skin. Even the soothing heat of the bath couldn’t expunge it.

Blue’s lips drooped with soft concern. “Here, let me.”

“I’m okay-” 

“I  _want_  to.” He’d already shifted to kneel behind her, but waited to reach out, “Please?”

As his lips brushed persuasively against her unbruised shoulder, she realized the false bravado had been silly. Old habits died hard. But this was her Blue. They took care of each other. “Thanks, Dollface.”

Eagerly he set about the task. His fingers weaved against her scalp, lathering soap in. Nate remained thorough and methodical in his doting, every strand received careful attention. You’d think some priceless artifact lay in his palms. She was sure all traces of grime had been expunged, but he seemed to be enjoying the task too much to notice. A sleepy contentment flowed beneath her lover’s captivation. Being pampered wasn’t  _so_  bad.

“Remind me to let you do this more often.” She hummed, closing her eyes. 

“I wouldn’t be opposed.” 

Nate took a pitcher from the floor, filling it from the tub and rinsing her clean. With his other hand he continued running through her hair. It was almost playful - how he brushed out each weightless ebony lock. At this length, her style was a hassle to maintain, and more than once she’d considered cutting it all off for sheer frustration. Under the attentions of Blue, no sense of similar agitation showed. “I love your hair.” He murmured, kissing the top of her head. “You know that? Even in a tangled mess.” 

“You tryin’ to woo me?” She leaned back. 

“Of course. Always.” Nate pressed into the touch and breathed deeply. For a moment they rested together, content to merely be close.

Then his mouth began drifting down the side of her neck.  _“I say I’ll go through fire. And I’ll go through fire.”_ He sang quietly, just for her, “ _As she wants it, so it will be… Cra-zy she calls me._ ”

She shuddered, reaching out, “C’mere.” 

“ _Yeah, I’m crazy-”_ He grinned dreamily as she planted a lazy kiss on his lips. “ _Crazy in love with you…”_


	6. NSFW ... To Distract [Piper/MSole]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate encourages Piper to relax while they work on a difficult case.  
> Rating: Explicit  
> Mentions: Smut, Established Relationship, Teasing, Cuddling, Neck Kisses, Dry Humping, Vaginal Fingering, Orgasm  
> Requested by [saltsealed.](https://saltsealed.tumblr.com/) Thank you [tarberrymenats](https://tarberrymentats.tumblr.com/) for beta-reading! :D

“You need a break.”

“ _No._  I need to  _finish this._ ”

“If you take a brea-”

Piper broke eye contact with the havoc of notes and evidence scattered across her desk to glare at Nate, who answered with an impish pout. He lounged on her bed, relaxed in the way he only ever seemed to be at times like this, when the two of them were alone and safe behind Diamond City’s Wall. All he wore was ruffled slacks and a partly-unbuttoned white shirt. She could see his bare chest peeking out under the cotton, presumably displayed on purpose. Part of his nefarious scheme to distract from her work.

For the past thirty minutes, his efforts had grown increasingly overt. She’d rebuffed them all. Normally Piper would be enthusiastic about such teasing. Admittedly, heat gathered between her legs in spite of the frustrations tilting her sideways.

Nate rolled onto his back, undeterred. “We’ve been at it for  _hours_ , Scribbles. You’ll just keep tying yourself in knots trying to unravel this thing. Lay down,  _take a break_. Come back to it later with a fresh perspective.” Puppyish round eyes begged her over, as Nate folded his arms behind his head.

“Nope. Not falling for it, Blue.  _Not_  even a little bit.”

“What if I said ‘please?’”

“Not until this is finished.” She disagreed, chewing her lip as she turned back to her collected research. The story in front of her couldn’t wait - she wasn’t willing to let it. Stepping away seemed too much like surrender. Even for a moment. Even if she’d been wracking her brain over this puzzle for so long it was difficult to think straight. Even if Blue was laying there, sprawled out on  _her bed_ only a few feet away, and something more than instinct urged her toward respite.

This time he didn’t immediately quip a retort. And in hindsight, that should’ve been a warning. If she hadn’t been so deliberately absorbed in her task, she might’ve noticed sabotage was imminent.

Too late.

Piper yelped as her chair suddenly tipped backward and Nate drug both her and the furniture back screeching towards the bed. “ _Blue!_ ”

“I’m afraid this just can’t be delayed, Miss.” He came to kneel before her, grinning so mischievously a surge of adrenaline pooled in her gut. And then he kissed her, lifting her off the chair as she made a halfhearted attempt at pushing him off, and plopped her gently on the bed. “I promise, the story will still be there in half an hour. That’s all I’m asking for.”

Crossing her arms, Piper leaned back with a scowl and stared up at him. “You know, when I think of  _chivalry_ , this is not what comes to mind.”

“Well I’m not going to apologize for my roguish charm.” Nate hovered over her, blue eyes bright with amusement. Her lover’s familiar musk was strong so close together. An incense equally as distracting as his lazy grin and coiling muscles. Tremors whispered down her spine.

“Humor me.” He urged, planting another soft kiss on Piper’s lips before curling up beside her.

“Aren’t I already?”

Amusement tugged at Nate’s smile. He buried his face in her hair, blowing a soft chuckle against her neck, “Close your eyes and  _try_  to relax.”

“Fat chance of that.” She grumbled, but followed the instruction and rolled to her side. Nate scooted up close behind, fitting comfortably against her. It didn’t… feel  _terrible._  There were worse interruptions. She supposed.

At first, his hand was content to pet over her t-shirt and spandex. Slow, certain strokes massaged her arms, thigh, belly. As if he had all the time in the world to explore her figure. He had a gentle touch. Even calloused, Nate’s palms were smooth by Wasteland standards.

Resistance was difficult to maintain. Patiently he coaxed her into reclining against him.

Then his roving fingers found their way beneath her pants.

“Bluee, I don’t have time for - _mnnhhh_ -…”

Protests dying on her lips, Piper groaned as he suckled insistently down her throat, tongue warm against her skin. One hand ran through her hair as the other explored the edges of her womanhood. She was already throbbing.

A hum of satisfaction rumbled out of Nate. “Seeing as the goal is to loosen up, I think you might benefit from fewer layers.” he murmured, breath flushing over her ear. His grip coiled meaningfully around the lip of her pants.

In answer, Piper shifted her legs and allowed him to disrobe her. Until nothing but undergarments remained between her bare self and the open air. “This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?”

“Maybe.”

“You  _are_  a rogue.” Vulnerability with Blue came so easily, it was quickly becoming hard to remember why resistance had seemed so important. She reached back to caress his cheek. He leaned into the touch with a smile.

“I love you.” Nate coaxed, tugging at her knee. He spread her leg over him, brushing her inner thigh, “I love the way you smell.” A kiss lingered against her collar bone as he breathed in, “And the way you talk.” Another floated over her shoulder; Piper’s back arched faintly. “And the way you tease me.”

Tickling it lightly, Nate brought heat flushing over her clitoris.  _Who’s teasing who?_  She thought, but couldn’t quite seem to form the words. All that came out was a whimper. Eyes shut, Piper swallowed, clutching at her pillow.

“You are beautiful.” He murmured, lowering his head to kiss her shoulder blade. Then he thrust his hips against her ass, erection bulging under his slacks.

A jolt surged down Piper’s spine.  _“_ Blue-” She breathed, surprised by the sudden urgency of his desire. Blush spread across her freckled skin, a bare echo of the fire ignited inside.

“Relax.” He insisted in a soft voice, but he kept himself pressed hard against her.

She managed to. A bit.

“…That’s it.” Humping her slowly, Nate pressed firmer strokes with his finger. “Unravel with me.”

Piper sucked in a shaky pant, going rigid as craving flooded her senses. She could feel his hunger clearly, and it melted into her own. “Oh, God _._ ”

“ _Relax._ ” He murmured again, “You’re too stiff.”

It took a span of several seconds for Piper to respond, exhaling with a low whine as each tense muscle surrendered to the attentions of her lover, a little at a time.

“There,  _oh…_ ” Nate hummed, peppering her jaw with kisses as she ground against him. “Tha- _at’s_  right.” Exploring downward, he found the slick evidence of her arousal. “You’re as wet as Pleasure Bay down there.” A second digit joined the first, rubbing wider circles beneath her garments.

She succumbed to a haze. He kneaded, stroked, and tugged in and around her sensitive parts, backing off whenever her shivering grew too frantic. He rubbed either side of her labia and then beckoned in between.

Piper gasped deep in her throat, giving fully to the pleasure and spreading herself further apart to let him have his way.

Nate sat up, drawing another plaintive whine. Which seemed to amuse him. He repositioned below her, tugging her underwear off and gaining both hands access to the swollen, dripping mess of her private parts.

When he pressed two fingers against her slit, prying it open, Piper whimpered. His touch echoed all over, like the notes of a song. Nate’s second hand busied itself with her clitoris once more, and his tongue crept down her inner thigh. Sensation numbed her mind to all else.

Climax caught her by surprise. Under his caress, a jittery, gentle surge of pleasure washed over Piper, filling her with symphony. The snip of release pulled a sigh from her lips, wetness drenching Nate’s fingers as she throbbed beneath him.

He massaged her in slow, careful strokes, easing her back down to earth until she reached out for him.

Kissing just above her womanhood, he chuckled. Then he wiggled up to fold his arms over Piper’s chest and smirked down with a look of dreamy satisfaction. “Well?”

She rolled her eyes, “O- _kaay_. You were  _right_. That was nice.”

Pressing his forehead to her’s briefly, he snickered. “I know. And I love you.”

He left her lying there to clean off, returning a few minutes later with an offering of nuka cola.

“What about you?” She asked, raising a brow at overt bulge still pressing against his trousers.

 _“That…”_ Nate leaned down to kiss her slowly. When they pulled apart, he smirked and answered quietly, “Is for after you finish your article. Try not to leave me suffering too long, okay?”


	7. ... Desperately [Piper/MSole]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Shroud intrudes upon Diamond City on a dark, rainy night  
> Rating: General  
> Mentions: fluff, teasing, roleplay (sfw)

Her road-weary boots sloshed in the mud, puddles beneath reflecting the neon glow of Diamond City lights so you could barely tell which way was up. Rain tick-tocked off the rim of her cap like the beating of a clock.

Across the street, he stood there, trench coat angled in sharp opposition.

“You got some nerve showing up here, Shroud.”

The cloaked figure tilted his head, silhouette illuminated briefly beneath his fedora by the click of a lighter. He took a deep breath from his cigarette and filled the damp air with smoke. “I’m plucky that way.”

The rhythm of the city pulsed around him, indifferent to the trespass of a stranger. But not Piper. “Thought you could just show up in my town and I wouldn’t find out?”

Another puff. “Sweetheart, I was countin’ on it.” His hat tilted up toward the stadium lights. Blue eyes, stormy and dark to match the night around them, flashed in the glow. “Took a gamble. Looks like I played my cards right, though. Got a burning question. And only you can answer it…”

She cocked a loaded brow, daring to approach the mysterious figure. “ _Which is?_ ”

This close, she could see him trying very hard not to smile. Static in the air between them urged her forward, like a moth to the flame, or a huge pile of lint to synthetic fabric. But she held her ground.

The Shroud turned to her, face awash with a grim mask that might be convincing except for the amused wrinkles tugging at his eyelids. “Tell me, _Mistress of Mystery…_ ”

And he couldn’t keep it up any longer. Nate’s cryptic tone staggered with scarcely restrained laughter as his lips spread into a wide grin, “Did’ya miss me?”

What little self-restraint she had left unraveled at that smile. Piper leaped, throwing her arms around him and forcing him to drop both his cigarette and the act in order to catch her. Nate spun her through the rain, pressing his forehead against hers and laughing like he’d just grown wings.

The moment her feet touched solid ground she kissed him. Not a shy one, either. As raw and real as the hunger spreading out of her bones from somewhere deep in her soul.

He gave a little “mmph,” leaning into the affection as a strong hand roved over her back. Nate tasted like cigarette smoke and desire. She wanted _more_. Half of her had been missing until now, and every fiber of Piper’s being begged for reunion.

When they finally parted, the world was spinning. There wasn’t quite enough air. Her lips lingered against his own, hot breath smoking the chilly city street.

Nate opened his eyes, seeming a little unsure where he was anymore. His voice was hoarse, and not from imitating the Shroud. “Guess that answers that.”


	8. ... Because the World Is Ending [Piper/MSole]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate wakes from a terrible nightmare, and Piper learns more about the demons that haunt her lover by night  
> Rating: Teen  
> Mentions: ptsd, nightmares, emotional hurt/comfort  
> Requested by [Shadow-Mockingbird!](https://shadow-mockingbird.tumblr.com)  
> Thanks to [Tarberrymentats](http://tarberrymentats.tumblr.com) and [Shadow-Mockingbird!](https://shadow-mockingbird.tumblr.com) for beta reading!

Nate woke wailing. An unnatural, quaking shriek that pierced the air like the dropping of a bomb. 

Piper lurched from her own sleep with a hiss, fumbling for the lantern in the dark. _“What is it?”_ Low red light spilled across the bed. 

He’d curled into himself, forearms braced against a bowed head, rocking with distress.

_Oh._

Reaching out tentatively, she grasped for his hand. He stared - not comprehending. Blind terror had turned his sky-coloured eyes cloudy. 

“Can you… can you hear me, Blue?” She searched his expression for some sign of recognition. Even a little.

Slowly it dawned on him. Blue’s face contorted and shattered. A held breath came shuddering out as he crumpled into her arms; Piper barely managed to catch him. He coiled around her and she pressed into the space between - unsettled by the desperation of his grasp. Usually Nate’s instinct was to retreat after episodes.

“H-ey.” She soothed, struggling to find a confident voice. She stroked his back and felt him shiver. 

Nate inhaled sharply, burying his face in the tangles of her hair. Rays of fear slicked off him and turned the air acidic. God, he was practically in pieces. 

“Easy there, Dollface.” Piper tried to laugh.

His fingers squeezed even tighter. 

“Just can’t keep your hands off me, huh?” Beneath her light tone she was possessed by a surge of frustration. To think Nora’s ghost still haunted him so mercilessly. 

“Can’t help it, Beautiful. You got my heart beating like a triphammer.” Came the abstract reply. Nate’s voice pitched upward with a precarious tilt.

“Y’know, there are more romantic ways to get my attention.”

He breathed into Piper’s neck. “I’m sorry I woke you…”

“Yeah. Well, I’m up now. Do you wanna talk about it?” She offered, nuzzling him back. 

For a long moment he was still. Then, with some reluctance, Nate pulled away, staring intensely down at his palms. He shook his head.

Not surprising. He never wanted to talk about it. But Piper always asked.

She wasn’t sure how else to soothe nightmares like Nate’s. Visions so full of fear and pain that he lost himself in them. For close on two years, their grip on him remained absolute. Long before she knew him as Lover, or even Friend. He would shake and scream and she wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing. Sometimes it frightened her.

Now even in their nights together, her presence seemed to aggravate his condition as often as eased. And lately it was even worse than usual. But he kept choosing her, he stayed by her side. So she had to believe that in spite of his terrors he was as devoted to her as she was to him.

“You know, you - don’t have to do this alone.” She tried, almost meek. “I’m here for you, Blue. And, ah, as it is, I could stand to get a good night's sleep… Kinda get the feeling you could, too.”

The silence stretched out between them. A familiar trench between her and Nate’s fears she could never quite reach across. Piper couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. After everything the pair of them survived, all the dangers they’d faced, she didn’t understand why he still couldn’t trust her. Why he didn’t want her to be a part of carrying this burden that weighed him down, when they stood side by side shouldering all others.

And then he surprised her. “...You’re right.” Nate admitted weakly, voice hitching. “You deserve to know. I just-” The words wouldn’t form, though he struggled valiantly.

Scooching up beside him again, Piper folded her legs and took his hands, slowly petting their tops with her thumbs. The dim light caught her eyes and colored them earnest. “Tell me the story.”

He shook his head. Nate started to answer more than once, but cut off each time. Unformed words stuck in his chest as he forgot to breathe. She’d interviewed survivors, before, so wounded by the horrors inflicted upon them that they could barely speak. But it was hard to see Blue, _her_ Blue, in the same straits.

“You know I dream about… before the War. And the vault.” He hedged.

Piper nodded.

“It’s not always - _her_.” A grim shadow loomed in the admission.

“A different dream?”

“Yeah -- _No_ , it- It gets tangled.” He huffed. “Sometimes, we’re not in the Vault.” Gritting his teeth, he squinted. “There’s a fire - instead, or a - dark cloud. Sometimes I don’t see it happen at all.” 

Nate swallowed, stiff. His fingers closed around hers. “Sometimes it’s Shaun, crying and I can’t reach him, or a neighbor getting shot instead, or… sometimes it’s…” Haggardly he met Piper’s gaze, unable to finish as tears welled against wide, wounded eyes.

Her stomach turned in a knot. The way his face twisted as he looked at her - like she was already dead. 

“Sometimes it’s _me_.” She realized. A pang throbbed in her chest. 

“It felt so real.” He murmured. “For a moment I couldn’t tell if--”

“He- _ey -“_ She whimpered plaintively, hurt by his distress _, “_ I’m _here,_ Blue. Still in one piece.” She kissed his temple. Then his lips. “It was a bogus dream, okay? Focus on me.” Piper cupped his cheek. “You feel that?” Stroked it. Tugged his hands against her so he could perceive the truth of her figure beneath them. Maybe if he could just know she was there, that would ease his pain when words couldn’t.

He nodded with a weak breath, wrestling with strong emotion.

“That’s what’s _real._ ” She pressed, squeezing his hand. “Right here, right now. I’m not going anywhere, Dollface. You can count on it.”


	9. ... Passionately...To Shut Them Up [Piper/MSole]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate faces a difficult diagnosis and fears for his future. Piper reminds him what's really important  
> Rating: Teen (angst, injuries)  
> Mentions: loyalty, whump, blindness, radiation exposure, disability, anxiety, arguing (light)  
> Requested by [ronqueesha!](https://ronqueesha.tumblr.com/)

Radiation was the common cold of a postwar world. Any doctor could handle it. Every farmer knew a few tricks to stave off the ruin of accidental exposure.

So. The burns they could treat. Nate’s skin wouldn’t scar. His organs wouldn’t fail. His hair wouldn’t fall out (permanently, anyway) and his fever was under control.

But,

“Eyes are more… delicate.”

And,

_“It can’t be rushed.”_

Two weeks? Two months? Maybe more. Or maybe not _at all._

He tried to be optimistic. Piper saw right through it. Must have been in the look on his face, or the pitch in his voice - because even as he thanked the doctor her fingers drifted around his palm and didn’t squeeze. Grounding him.

Now she led him by both hands across the dirt path, to a little shack barely big enough for a mattress and a table. The only bed the remote settlement had to offer two strangers who’d come wandering in bloody and beaten. Nate walked as if he was going to his grave. Big fat bandages over both eyes made seeing a little impossible.

“Whu- _ell_.” Piper supplied in a lofty voice, “It’s not exactly a luxury establishment, but it’s got charm. In a sort of… moldy, asymmetrical way.”

“Don’t say I never spoil you.” Nate quipped. And then tripped over a loose floorboard. The world spun wildly in the dark.

“Blue!” She yelped, rushing to catch him as he buckled over.

“I’m fine. Heh.” Nate smiled, but there was no laughter in it. He fumbled for her shoulder, wincing as the motion aggravated still-new wounds. Nate stopped trying to smile.

A surge of frustration puled from his gut. _Blind. Broken. Helpless._ He couldn’t even see the face of the woman he loved. Despair rolled in like a storm, punitive in the face of his feeble efforts to restrain it. The Fear came, too. Chewing through Nate’s false bravado faster than ‘lurk acid. There was no comfort.

Piper sidled up against him on the tattered mattress, resting her cheek against the crook of his neck. Though he couldn’t see it, Nate sensed her eyes running over him, assessing the damage. “How you holdin’ up?” She probed.

He grimaced. “You shouldn’t have to do this.”

Her new _adventure_ for the next two-weeks _-or-maybe-forever_ was supposed to be watching out for him, while he staggered around like a headless chicken? That was no life. “I can’t make it back to Diamond City-” _Blind._ The word stuck in his head and wouldn’t come out. “And even if I did…” His throat tightened. “What use will I be to anyone. _To you._ ”

A weak, bewildered laugh coughed out of Piper. “Pf- _Blue._ I love you. No matter how this goes. We’ve been in worse scrapes; I can look after you until you heal.”

“And what if I don’t heal?” He barbed, hostile with fear, “What if I’m a blind man forever? When I can’t defend myself and can’t travel and can’t even see your face? Is that what you want?”

It was quiet for a moment - long enough for her to have given him _that_ look. “I don’t care.” She replied testily.

_“How can you not ca-”_

“Hey, listen to me-”

_“Piper-”_

She kissed him, hard, tugging her fingers through his hair and down his jaw until his tense body loosened under her in submission. Piper’s nose brushed his own and she breathed softly against his lips. “You’re _alive_. We still have each other. _That’s_ what matters.” She insisted quietly, fiercely. “The rest is just details, Blue. Noise. _Static_. I don’t care if you lost your arms and legs to boot and turned into a blind ghoul caterpillar, I’d hand feed you and read you comics and describe all the colours of all the sunsets before I kissed you under them.”

The wound in her voice at the end put Nate very close to tears.

She hugged him tightly and whimpered, _“Alright?”_

Nate clutched her and nodded weakly, saltwater weeping into his bandages. “I love you, too.”

Piper nuzzled him, scoffing with relief, “This is _exactly_ where I want to be, dollface. You don’t need to worry.”


	10. NSFW ... Out of Spite [Nora/Stranger]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora blames Nate for getting killed in the Vault and seeks out the comfort of a stranger's touch... but it's not what she really wants  
> Rating: Mature (smut, language)  
> Mentions: angst, alcohol, grief disguised as anger, bar pickup, fondling, infidelity  
> Requested by [ronqueesha!](https://ronqueesha.tumblr.com/)

“So uh, you must be new around here. I’ve never seen y’before.” 

Nora gave him a blossoming smile that didn’t reach her eyes. He failed to notice the falsity of it as she lied, “That’s right. New in town.” 

In truth Nora had seen more of this damn ballpark than she ever needed or wanted to on behalf Nate. She could probably traverse it blind. His obsession with the sport, particularly as the Sox clawed their way into the lead of a World Series race, could not be understated. But of course, all this had been very different, then. A real dugout instead of a (not) cleverly named moonshine distillery. 

“Yeah, that’s what I figured.” The other patron - Ed, or something - gave a rather pathetic looking smolder, “I woulda remembered someone with, well, your kinda figure.”

“Mmhmmm.” Nora sipped vodka from her glass, half-lidded eyes fixated on her conversation partner. He didn’t have the look of a man who knew too much about women. That was alright. He was eager to please. A pliable companion could chase the loneliness away just fine. She didn’t need anything more than a night to pretend. 

“What’s a dame like you doin’ here alone anyway, huh? Seems a real shame.”

Her gut twisted, prompting Nora to stop sipping and down the rest of her cup instead.  _Burn it out._  “My man abandoned me.” She flouted back, “All alone out here, without even a goodbye. So much for promises of forever, hm?” 

Ed scowled, looking a little too far south as he made his condolences, “That’s a crime, Miss. It truly is.”

She smiled again.

He was a fool, to be sure. Pretty, though. And clean. The cleanliness alone was almost enough. Nora was tired of sleeping in a cold bed with nothing but empty space to reach for in the night. If that meant picking up a stranger at a bar in some rundown shantytown, so be it. Wasn’t like she had anyone else, anymore.

“You deserve a fella who’ll treat you right.” Ed continued his visual expedition.

“That’s awful sweet of you to say, Honey.”  _Honey._  She grimaced. It was just a word now. Didn’t have any meaning.

Ed smirked. He’d black hair and pale eyes. If she was being honest, that was probably the main reason she’d picked him out of the melancholy drunks collected in the Dugout. Only a dusty black, cut short, greying out - not at all as soft looking as Nate’s. And roving eyes without any warmth to them. Her husband’s blue-hazel always reminded her of the sea at sunrise. Ed’s were just cloudy glass.

No. He wasn’t strong or safe or brave or anything at all to be proud of. Just a prop, a plastic imitation of the man who left her behind in this godforsaken wasteland.

They bantered for a while. By his third beer her potential liaison was doing a poor job of hiding his interest, so Nora switched tactics from coy to - well, something even a sober bystander could’ve understood to mean her intentions for the night. Subtlety was a lost art on Ed. Not much of a game. 

Still, she reminded herself, that wasn’t the point.

The main downside was that it gave her time to dwell on other things between their exchanges of increasingly implicative banter. Like Nate. And what a fool he’d been.  _And how she hated him._

 _You didn’t have to die._  Anger flared through her, callous and indiscriminate in its fury. Growing up, she always loved the great Tragedies of Old World literature. Naive mortals who challenged Fate and were left wanting in ruin. Realizing she’d married one of them didn’t carry the same appeal. 

 _Don’t expect me to drag on the rest of my life mourning you._  Her fingers tightened around her glass.  _Don’t expect me to waste one more minute being lonely because you couldn’t show a shred of sense._  

Stupid man. Stupid  _soldier_. What had he thought? He’d fend Shaun’s kidnappers off all by himself? No. He hadn’t thought at all about what it would mean when she had to bury him. Always running off to the next battle. 

He’d promised not to leave her. And in the end, she was alone.  _You liar._  She was only returning the favor. 

The bartender refilled her drink and Nora went to down it immediately - glad that, if nothing else, they didn’t skimp on alcohol in the apocalypse. She couldn’t say exactly what happened next. The glass never met her mouth. It slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor, contents spilling across her lap. 

“ _Jesus._ ” She snapped. 

“Slow it down there, Baby.” Ed chuckled, “Think you’ve had enough?”

 _Hardly._  But she grinned playfully. Might as well make the most of the opportunity presented. “God, I’m such a clutz. Would you, ah-” Nora drifted off, batting her eyes at him implicatively, “… Maybe come out back, and help me clean up?”

Ed’s brows narrowed as her meaning dawned on him. He smirked, “Wouldn’t think to leave a lady in such dire straits.”

They barely made it out the door before Ed pressed her to the wall in a shadowed corner of the alley. He clutched at her with clumsy drunken fervor. And his fingers weren’t practiced or gentle like Nate’s had been, but it was nice to feel wanted. 

Quickly Ed slithered up her skirt. Hungry. Groping. The unwelcome memory of a more nervous first touch needled at her mind. And a moonlit night. And warm summer air, full of fireflies. 

With a hiss she yanked Ed’s mouth up to hers to kiss him, hard. Her teeth pried his lips, the way Nate had always loved so much. Ed let out a sloppy groan. “You like that?” She whispered, pressing up against him so he could get the full sense of her figure, once reserved for a single treacherous lover, “Show me how a  _real_  man treats a woman.”

Those wide eyes blared in her mind, and the way Nate had smiled on their wedding night. He always had the brightest smile, and God she missed it.

Pain sprouted from her chest as Ed slobbered down her neck and he stopped prying at her underclothes long enough to rip the buttons down her dress. As if falling from a great height, Nora was thrown by the sickening realization that she wasn’t enjoying a single moment of his advances.

He already had her top halfway off and more of her lay exposed in the cold than was comfortable. Any passers-by would know exactly what sort of mischief they were up to. She grasped wildly for the sense of reckless devilry that’d possessed her in the bar, for the blistering spite towards Nate that’d sustained her every motivation up to this moment.

 _Damn you Nathaniel Ronan. I waited for you, all those years I waited for you._ And he’d  _left her_. He was  _gone._  He wasn’t coming back. His memory couldn’t warm her bed. It couldn’t soothe the ache in her chest. There was nothing left of their vows except broken glass. Shattered to pieces.

_To hell with our vows._

“To hell with  _you._ ” The angry sob pealed out. 

“Unh?” Ed’s rhythm faltered.

Tears bled down her cheeks as she recoiled, “Get off.” And when he hesitated too long, she shoved. Hard. “I said  _get off!_  Scram. We’re done. _”_

“Damn, alright, fine!” Ed slurred with aggravation. And then muttered less savory retorts regarding her nature under his breath as he stumbled back to the bar. 

“Oh yeah? Come back and say that to my face, asshole!” she snarled, and Ed lurched quickly out of sight.

Unable to will her feet into motion, Nora sank to the dirt and wept bitterly. The last time she’d cried like this, it’d been against Nate’s shoulder, and he’d held her through the night until she no longer felt small and helpless anymore. “Damn you.” She whimpered. “ _Damn you…”_

She hated him. And she would give anything,  _anything in the world_ , just to hold him again.

A DC guard hovered on the far end of the street. Hot frustration bubbled back up in Nora’s throat when she realized she was being oggled. “Like what you see, Umpire?,” she growled, tugging her ripped shirt against the chill of night. The tear-smeared makeup across her face itched terribly, but she refused to rub at it. “Fuck off.”

He seemed to hesitate a moment further, but took the hint and left her alone again in the narrow alley.

Alone. Alone. Alone. 

 _God, Nate,_ why _did you do it?_

She knew, of course. Deep down. It was because he loved her. Because he loved Shaun. And because he did not love himself. She wasn’t sure which had really gotten him killed. Maybe the reason didn’t matter, anyway. He was gone, and she wasn’t, and now the night was much too dark to see.


	11. ... Because Time's Run Out [Deacon/FSole]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Injury on the run forces Deacon and Nora to make a difficult decision, and brings an untimely confession  
> Rating: Teen (injury)  
> Mentions: accidental confessions, peril, whump, broken bone, deception, self-sacrifice  
> Requested by [tarberrymentats](https://tarberrymentats.tumblr.com/)

Dark shadows lingered in every corner of the room. Rotting drywall and loose cables hung limp like dismembered ghosts against each black crevice. This was a bolthole for the dead and dying. You could tell by the smell alone, Nora and Deacon weren’t the first cornered rabbits to dig in. 

He was heavier than her, but her veins throbbed with adrenaline and mortal fear, giving her the strength to prop him up as they shambled to the far end of the burrow. 

“That cheap trick won’t distract them for long.” He groaned, bracing his thigh as she propped him against the wall. 

“Dogmeat’s smarter than all three of those moon monkeys combined. We’ve got enough time for me to fix you up.”

“See, you really shoulda taken Des’s suggestion. Fixer would’ve been a  _great_ codename for you.”

Nora scoffed. “Too obvious.”

In the light of her Pip-Boy he was deathly pale. Deacon’s leg bent awkwardly, and though he wasn’t bleeding, the swelling spoke for itself. Fractured. Maybe broken. God, she had no clue how to reset a bone. Only enough experience to know that trying without the right training would probably just make it worse.

She hissed, worry eating at her heart like a worm. “You’re a damn idiot.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Deacon shifted uncomfortably. “But listen - that mutt can’t keep those Gen-1s distracted forever. They’ll be back. You need to be as far away from here as possible before then, kapeesh? You gotta leave me behind, Firefly.”

“Shut up.”

Deacon grimaced under a wave of pain, croaking bleakly, “Nice. Law school teach you that one?”

“Look, I’m gonna bind this and then you and I are walking out of here  _together._ ”

“Firefly-”

“There’s a Brotherhood outpost less than an hour from here, we can get to it and-”

 _“Nora.”_  Deacon’s voice cracked over her name, stopping her furious digging through the beat down rucksack she carried all her supplies in.

She fixed him with a stern frown. Gunshots echoed in the distance, setting her teeth on edge. Too often in the world before, she’d heard the static recording of these same sounds on the radio while news reporters spun tales of Anchorage’s carnage. And she, safe at home, could do nothing but pray Nate would come back in one piece. She’d lost one person to the Institute’s wrath already. She would never let herself be that helpless again.

“That holotape in your back pocket is what they’re after. You gotta get it to HQ or this entire op was for nothing. With me in tow you’ll be a sitting duck.” Deacon smiled, wide and white-toothed, “Listen, I’ll be fine.”

“You know what they  _did_  teach me in law school? How to tell when people are lying. To hell with the intel. I’m  _not_ leaving you.”

“Damnit, boss,” He let out a frustrated grunt, looking away, “ _You don’t have a choice._  I can’t run. And you can’t let them get you. For the love of all things green and glowing, don’t make me watch you go down in flames. Not  _ag-_ ”

Deacon checked himself sharply. The gunshots outside were closer. Or maybe it only sounded that way. Nora stared, willing him to meet her gaze.  _Begging_  him to finish what he’d started, and prove to her by saying aloud what she already knew in her heart. Honesty from him was a token she could take to her grave.  

But the sound of a relay fired down the block, then, and she knew they were out of time. “Alright.” There was no room for hesitation. Her route was perfectly clear. An obvious strategy. And Deacon wouldn’t like it. Well, she was done playing liar with him. 

He flinched automatically as her lips pressed hot against his, only for a moment. Just long enough. 

Fear speared through her gut, and guilt, and desperation, but not regret. She was done with regrets, too. Nora dropped the holotape in Deacon’s lap, pulling away just as he overcame his shock and pitched forward in answer.

She smiled with brimming tears, “In case you had any ideas about trying to play the hero act. You’ve got your mission, and I’ve got mine”

Deacon understood immediately. Cold terror broke through his temperate facade. “Firefly-”

“Hold on to that tape. I’ll clear the way, and come back for you when it’s safe.” She explained anyway, already at the door, “I promise.” And then Nora bolted, out of Deacon’s reach and into the dagger’s edge of the night.

 _I_ will _come back,_  She told herself, teeth gritting with determination. Deacon’s lips still burned where they touched in that brief moment of self-indulgence. It had been a flash of truth in the dark, however brief. And whatever it took to save him, it was a price she would pay.


	12. ... Out of Lust [Piper/MSole]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caught between the passion of newfound love and the need to keep their blossoming romance a secret, Piper entertains herself by testing the boundaries of Nate's self-restraint  
> Rating: Teen  
> Mentions: lust, secret relationship, teasing, kissing  
> Requested by [thewookieruns](https://thewookieruns.tumblr.com/)  
> Thanks [tarberrymentats](https://tarberrymentats.tumblr.com/) for beta reading!

She couldn’t get enough. Like the day Publick first hit the stands, or a mug of fresh tarberry juice, there was something addictive about stealing clandestine glimpses from Nate. Tilting her hips in just such a way to accentuate the curves he liked to trace, she watched him stare. Catch himself. Glance away. But he was still paying attention. The unsteady clearing of his throat told her so. And the rap of fingers against his thigh as they walked.

People had eyed Piper’s figure before, of course. Strangers in passing. Never a lover though. Never _Nate._ Who, now that he’d tasted her, seemed to be having just as much trouble keeping their trysts a secret as she was. The memory of skin on skin and his tongue against her red throat sparked a shiver through Piper. These little baits were crumbs thrown to starving bodies.

Even now, as they made their way down the streets of Boston, warm sunset bouncing off the pavement, she felt Nate’s attention drift back to her and swayed her steps a little. Hardly enough for anyone except him to notice. Peeking over her shoulder, she smirked. 

Nate’s hand rubbed at his mouth as he appeared overly preoccupied with a crumbling brick wall. No one could know about their affair. Neither dared to be too forward, not when Institute spies could be watching. But he was so ridiculously fun to tease. Every quiet moment since hitting the road had been spent testing how far she could push him. 

Piper only realized she’d been, maybe, a little too effective in her methods when Nate suddenly took her by the wrist and tugged her against the wall of a discreet alley.

Oh God. He was so close now. She could smell his familiar musk, and her eyes lit up with mischief. “Somethin’ the matter, Blue?”

“This game of yours.” He pouted. “You’ve been teasing me all day. Do you have _any_ idea how distracting that is?”

“ _Maybe_.” Her brows quirked over a wicked smile. “Is that a problem?”

“You’re not playing fair.” He breathed, looking at her with such intensity her legs turned to jelly.

“Yuh think so, huh? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure _my_ game means, ah,” She tilted her head back, taunting him with the skeptical upward sweep of her parted lips, “ _my rules_.”

“Hmm…” He smirked. He was perilously close. “I’ll concede defeat.”

“ _No_ , you?” Piper tilted her head away in mock opprobrium, “THE Agent _Charmer_ , and you can’t even outplay this one little ‘ol reporter? What will the people think!”

“They’ll think-” Blue exhaled unsteadily, hot against her flushing earlobe. “-he didn’t stand a chance.”

All the words in her head turned to gibberish. It was hard to think of anything except _him_ at this proximity. 

She kissed him. Once, twice - soft, searching kisses that filled her up with music. Nate’s fingers flexed on her hips, sliding up her waist and over her shoulders to cup her cheeks. His hands were trembling, too.

“I want you.” Nate huffed, finally opening his eyes again.

She grinned, flashing him a vixen’s smile, and ducked out of reach. Nate stared after her with frustrated desperation. But she was exposed, now. The crows would notice if he made chase. She almost felt bad for him. Almost.  

Her voice was sultry and taunting as she sauntered down the street, “Sorry Blue, that was your free space. If you want _more_ , well… you’ll have to play the game.”

 


	13. ... Out of Jealousy [Piper/MSole]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate returns to Diamond City eager for Piper's embrace, only to find her in the arms of another!!  
> Rating: General  
> Mentions: domestic fluff, shenanigans, melodrama, secondhand embarrassment (possibly? these two have little to no shame)  
> Requested by Darkwolf7-26  
> Thanks to [saltsealed](https://saltsealed.tumblr.com/), [daddyfuckinlonglegs](https://daddyfuckinlonglegs.tumblr.com/), and [tarberrymentats](https://tarberrymentats.tumblr.com/) for beta-reading!

He was coming home. Before the War, Nate often remarked so jokingly. Even now he could recall the allure of stadium lights and a monstrous green wall, canvasses for a mass of cheering friends and strangers. A lifetime ago. 

Two centuries later when he stumbled through Diamond City’s gate for the first time, lost and alone, the idea that Fenway park might ever become more than a sobering reminder that the world had changed seemed far-fetched. Out of the park. 

Now though, as Nate stepped through the musty, water-marked concrete tunnel and the infield came into view, someone waited for him. 

Piper hovered intently over a stack of fresh papers at her stand. She hadn’t seen him yet. Morning sun rippled off her hair and set a shine to the red of her coat. For a moment he paused at the top of the stairway, lost in admiration. 

Today was a printing day. Soon Natalie would be running the bases to deliver news and by noon the ballpark would be in a riot over whatever story of Piper’s had hit the press. Come evening, she’d already be honing in on her next big scoop, and trying to enlist Nate to boot. Probably something dangerous.

This was no domestic life - it certainly wasn’t for the faint of heart. For all their hardships, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Piper gave him roots. Respite in a world which too often left him restless. He’d always be grateful to her, and she would always have his heart. 

With an exuberant bark Dogmeat surged ahead, tail wagging a mile a minute. Piper looked up sharply, and a brilliant smile lit her face which Nate echoed on instinct.

Dogmeat was already across the street. Piper crouched to greet the hound only to stumble backward as he charged into her full-tilt. Aiming straight for her mouth, he bathed her in sloppy licks which she couldn’t entirely fend off.

“H _ey_ \- pfth.” She waved up at Nate as he reached the scene, but Dogmeat had her pinned. 

“I can’t believe this!” Nate hissed, suddenly brimming with hurt. “I can’t believe you’ve done this - to me!”

Piper’s brow quirked over lips uncertain what shape to assume. Dogmeat paused his rampant affection to look up.

“I’ve been on the road for weeks! Long, miserable weeks! With nothing but the dream of seeing you again to sustain me.” Nate curled wilting fingers over face, “I thought what we had was love! But now I find you carrying on with this - _scoundrel!”_ He punctuated a pause, then cast a condescending glower at Dogmeat, who flattened his ears. “And you! I thought we were friends! _How could you both betray me!_ ”

A handful of residents paused, drawn by the commotion. As many others were deliberately ignoring the spectacle.

“No, Blue!” Piper sputtered, struggling under Dogmeat. “It’s not what it looks like, I swear!” She scrambled to her feet, brushing fur from her scarf before reaching hastily after Nate’s turning back. “Come back, I made a mistake but I still love _you!”_

“It’s _too late,_ Scribbles! I’m _done._ It’s _over between us!_ ”

“Don’t say that, Blue,” she whined. “We can - we can work this out!”

“I’m sorry. You’ve broken my heart immendably.”

Dogmeat barked.

Hands on his hips, Nate scoffed, “Really? That’s all you’ve got to say for yourself?”

The hound ducked into a play bow, pulling a smile through Nate’s facade. He knelt down, and Dogmeat jumped forward, pelting affection.

Piper stomped an indignant foot, face washed with fury. “Oh! So _that’s-how_ it is!”

The boys blanched.

“I’m not allowed any fun at all but _you_ can dally around with whoever you like!” She flung an accusing finger, “This was a setup, wasn’t it? The two of you hatched your elaborate scheme to get me out of the picture, didn’t you! Well I promise you deviants this - Diamond City will know _the truth!”_

“We heard all of it!” Someone booed from across the street, “Take it inside already, for Christ’s sake.”

Snickering, Nate rose to his feet and surged forward to finally embrace her. She pulled him tight, and for a moment he was lost in the sensation of being hers, and hers alone.

“Can you forgive me?” Nate cooed.

Piper’s mischievous gaze glowed with affection. “I dunno, Blue. This girl’s the jealous type.”

His lips pressed to hers, and Nate kissed her deeply without care for who saw until they were both breathless. 

Their foreheads touched, and she smiled against him. “Well… that’s a start.”


End file.
